Do you see what I see?

Yep, see that 92? That's the temperature INSIDE our house thanks to this record-breaking heat wave. And this is even downstairs. Ugh! Can you top that?

In a hurry to grow up!

Lydia is a busy girl. When we put her in the bouncy seat or the car seat, she pulls her head up so she can look around. She has simply got to know what's going on and doesn't want to miss any of it! She's 4 months going on 4 years! She was pretty darn happy - and cute too - sitting like a big girl in the high chair.

What will happen when she's 10?
"Mom, can I wear makeup?"
OR
"Dad, can I take the car out for a spin?"
OR
"I'm thinking of getting my college applications in early."

hee hee (that's my nervous laughter) Better to just enjoy our little sweetie right now in this moment - she just may be the cutest little girl EVER!

Are you playing this game at your house too?

It's that time of year again. Thanks to another bumper crop of squash, each evening at dinner we play the game "Where's the hidden zucchini?" Although I've tried to keep up with picking them before they become mammoth, as seen in this post, I'm slipping it in wherever I can just to use it up.

Yesterday I made this for dessert, and as of yet, Matt hasn't shown any suspicion as to its contents (guess he'll find out when he reads this heh heh). Not that any of us dislike it, but there's only so many ways you can cook it up as a side dish for every meal, you know? The recipe says zucchini bars so I expected it to be like bar cookies, but it's more like a cake. If you put the batter in a jelly roll pan maybe they'd be more like bars. The secret is to peel the zucchini so there aren't little flecks of green. I cut the oil in half and added more zucchini for moisture. And I added lots more lemon because I love it! I zested a whole large lemon and used all of its juice. It's yummy, especially since I added a 1/2 package of white chocolate chips I found in the pantry. What's your favorite zucchini (in plain sight or strategically hidden) recipe? I'd love to know.

Sew Happy, Volume 2

Part two of my ongoing sewing series and a glimpse of more completed projects since

Volume 1.

1. My stack n' whack quilt is finally done. I've had the top done for a while, but I took a while getting it to Felicia to quilt it.

I took this class way back when Mom had the quilt shop, and she picked out this fabric:

Wild, huh? Something I wouldn't have chosen, but now that it's put together, I love it! Stack n' whack quilts look better with more bold and pronounced patterns and a large pattern repeat. In the end, it creates a kaleidoscope look.

Here's the back...

...and a close-up of the quilting - all swirls and banana leaves.

2. Another venture was a t-shirt quilt.

In the past, for some reason I thought these were kind of tacky. But I had a whole space bag under my bed of full of t-shirts that I didn't wear anymore but that had enough sentimental value that I didn't want to get rid of them. Yes, I actually used to run, so most of the shirts are from races, and there are some other random ones mixed in. I didn't use a pattern but just decided to iron on a thick interfacing to stabilize each one and then cut them each in a 13" square so that with 1/2" seam, the finished size was 12" square. I found a fun black and white print for the sashing and a tomato red for the corner blocks.

The back is a quarter-turned pieced red flannel with stripes.

I didn't want to quilt the whole thing, but I also didn't want the traditional yarn ties that get balled up after you wash it. So I (with the help of Mom, Gerilyn and LaRinda) used extra long doll-making needles to tie it every 3" with a crow's foot knot...no loose ends as the yarn is fished through the layers of fabric and batting. It's so soft and great for picnics, as well as a walk down memory lane for me. :-)

3. For Christmas I made Matt's sister a table runner. The pattern is called Odd Fellow's Star and the finished size is only 12" x 36" so the pieces are pretty small. Foundation piecing is one of my favorite ways to piece, mainly because there's no cutting out patterns or tracing templates. It's like paint-by-number but with fabric.

4. Finally, here is the latest addition to Lydia's wardrobe.

I used some of my stash to make this dress using the pattern from this book:

So I didn't even have to buy any fabric (Matt was happy about that!). I love this book, and I can't wait to make more things. As a recommendation, if you're considering getting this book, make sure you have experience sewing and are familiar with sewing techniques. I had to make a couple of adjustments so that it made sense to me.


That's all for now...until the next Sew Happy installment!